Predictive v. Power Dialing

The key difference between predictive and power dialing lies in the use of sophisticated as against simple dialing algorithms. A predictive dialer should be able to constantly adapt its dialing algorithms to respond to and cope with all changes in dialing conditions and campaign parameters. By definition a power dialer cannot do this, since it is not tracking more than a few changes in dialing conditions. Hence the requirement for standby agents to cope with surges in abandoned calls, when the power dialing rate is set too high for the dialing conditions.

These differences may not be readily apparent from running Oceanic®, since we are dealing with relatively static dialing conditions. However, some general rules as to what to expect in practice, provided that a predictive dialer is well-tuned, are

for the same levels of agent talk and wait times, for both types of dialer, expect that the number of 'excess calls', and hence the number of standby agents required will always be equal or greater in the case of a power dialer, or
for the same levels of excess calls, and hence standby agents, for both types of dialer, always expect that a power dialer will produce lower talk times and higher wait times than a predictive dialer.

The issue of standby agents can apply as much to predictive dialers as it does to power dialers. Power dialers clearly require them since the algorithms used are simple, and good dialing performance cannot always be married to tight call abandonment control, if no standby agents are available.